Former White House aide Karl Rove denied on Monday that his close ties with Republican politics and John McCain's presidential campaign undermine his credibility as an election analyst for the Fox News Channel.

Appearing at a gathering of television critics in Beverly Hills, Rove and network executive John Moody brushed aside suggestions that Rove's continued involvement in the presidential race, informal or not, might pose a conflict in his capacity as a Fox News contributor. ...

Asked whether Rove was on "the honor system" regarding his contacts with top McCain campaign operatives such as Steve Schmidt, Moody replied: "He's always on the honor system. All of our employees are."

"We get most of our information about the McCain campaign from our correspondents," Moody added. "I don't think Karl would cross an ethical line like that."

Rove also dismissed the notion that his refusal to answer congressional subpoenas to testify in a probe of the Bush administration's firing of federal prosecutors amounted to too much political baggage for a network news analyst to carry.

Anybody who thinks Rove is giving dispassionate evaluations of the races is kidding themselves. But then, viewers of Fox News Channel know that they don't want reality, but a "news" outfit that gives them what they'd like to believe. And it probably makes them feel better until the election returns roll in.

I think Rove could give an even handed, unbiased analysis of politics and the races. But he won't. He would laugh at the thought, if asked off the record. And he won't be asked to.

I'm sure he'll offer all sorts of moderate sounding advice to help out Obama and other Democrats, and give some mild, inoffensive criticisms of some Republicans. And it will all be calibrated to benefit Republicans.